Advertising

'Tak and the Power of Juju' (ALL) Gets TV Series

Nickelodeon shifts the power of Tak from the video game console to TV sets everywhere this fall as the Nick/THQ video game becomes a brand new CG-animated series, Tak and the Power of Juju, premiering with two back-to-back half-hour episodes on Friday, August 31 from 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

Tak and the Power of Juju follows the teenage jungle-boy Tak, voiced by Hal Sparks (Talk Soup), and his fellow Pupununu villagers as they deal with their fate as the unluckiest tribe in the world. Their lives are sometimes helped - and frequently made more complicated - by the strange and mystical Jujus, magical beings with whom Tak has a special bond. Tak is the only Pupununu who holds the "Power of Juju," which allows him to access magic usually only available to 177-year-old shamans. For most, Juju power could be a recipe for success, but because of Tak's particular combination of imagination and irresponsibility, his powers only get him, the Pupununu villagers, and sometimes the Jujus, into outlandish trouble. Tak is joined by a colorful cast of characters in this fantastical jungle setting: Chief (Maurice LaMarche, Pinky & The Brain), Jibolba (Lloyd Sherr, Modern Marvels), Jeera (Kari Wahlgren, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!), Zaria (Dannah Feinglass, Mad TV), Lok (Patrick Warburton, The X's) and Keeko (John DiMaggio, Futurama).

"Tak is a great example of Nickelodeon's ability to develop an original character-based property and broaden it to multiple entertainment platforms," said Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon Television. "As our first in-house CG-animated series, it is another example of Nick's leadership in creating diverse, cutting-edge animation."

In the first premiere episode (8 - 8:30 p.m.), "Woodiefest," the ferocious Woodie creatures are planning to trash the Pupununu village during their annual rampage through the jungle. While the rest of the tribe runs off to hide, Tak, Jeera and Keeko decide to stay behind to fight off the attack using Tak's Power of Juju. Then in "Loser," Tak is tired of Lok bragging about his heroic feats, so he tests his friend with an impossible task. As anticipated, Lok fails the test and then is unexpectedly banished by the Chief for his failure. Feeling guilty and responsible, Tak sets out to reinstate Lok into the tribe.

In the second premiere episode (8:30 - 9:00 p.m.), "A Shaman's Shaman," Tak's magic has been going haywire lately and it seems like Jibolba may be to blame. Conveniently, Jibolba's former student, Traloc, arrives and turns out to be a great magic teacher. He takes Tak under his wing and turns him into a successful shaman. Ashamed, Jibolba leaves the tribe until Tak discovers that Traloc isn't the great, helpful guy he claims to be. Next in "The Gift," it's Jibolba's Shamanic Anniversary and Tak's forgotten to get him a present. Luckily, he finds the perfect gift in the juju marketplace ... a magical Motiki doll. However, when the doll comes to life, it wreaks havoc in the village. Tak must stop the doll before Jibolba's anniversary is ruined.

The Tak franchise was first introduced by THQ as a video game and has experienced great milestones since its inception in 2003 with over 3 million units shipped worldwide. Tak and the Power of Juju was the first installment in the series of games and has since sold-in over 1 million units worldwide. The second installment, Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams, came one year later and was followed by Tak: The Great Juju Challenge.

The series will air regularly on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.